Means for attaching prong-carrying fasteners to a garment



H. H. WOOD 2,916,740

Dec. 15, 1959 MEANS FOR ATTACHING PRONG-CARRYING FASTENERS TO A GARMENT Filed June 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 I H N i Wm H m V: B u f5 /0 2 m Dec. 15,1959 H. H. WOOD 2,916,740

I MEANS FOR ATTACHING PRONG-CARRYING F'XSTENERS TO A GARMENT Filed June 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 21 A 11 7 1 2 2s Y 7 1 J I INVENTOIR H- H, L/oocl.

OZ-JML ATTOR E75 United States Patent ll/IEANS FOR ATTACHING PRONG-CARRYING FASTENERS TO A GARMENT Herbert Howard Wood, Birmingham, England, assignor to Thomas Walker Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Application June 18, 1956, Serial No. 592,094

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 28, 1955 1 Claim. c1. 1-4

This invention relates to means for attaching devices by means of prongs or similar securing parts, such as eyelets, to flexible material in cases where the latter is formed as a sleeve or pocket; the invention refers more particularly to the attachment of prong-attached fastening devices to the Waistbands of trousers or other garments.

Waistbands of this type are usually made with two thicknesses of cloth in the form of a closed-ended sleeve or pocket, and the counterpart components of a twopart releasable fastening device, such as a hook engageable with an eye or staple, or slidably-engageable parts, are attached to the outside of the respective ends of the waistband by providing the fastening components with prongs which, by means of a suitable press, are passed through the one wall of the sleeve or pocket and clenched or bent over, usually on to a back-plate within the sleeve or pocket.

Heretofore, it has been necessary, for clenching the prongs in a press, to expose both sides of the waistband material, such as by opening out the sleeve or pocket, in order to position one thickness of the material forming the one wall of the sleeve or pocket over the prongclenching anvil of the press, and this has required subsequent sewing up and forming of the sleeve or pocket. Also, it was found that it is not satisfactory to attach the pronged fastening devices to a Waistband already sewn on to the trousers or other garment because of the subsequent re-forming of the sleeve which is necessary.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible for fastening devices to be attached by use of a clenching press to a pocket or sleeve formed of flexible material without the necessity of the material being opened out, thus avoiding or reducing the amount of subsequent re-forming of the pocket or sleeve.

Another object of the invention is to permit attachment of the devices in a quick and expeditious manner.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

Devices carrying prongs and the like may be attached by means of a clenching press to the outside of a doubled piece of flexible material, such as a pocket or sleeve, by inserting into the flexible material a mandrel carrying an anvil for clenching the prongs, removably mounting the prong-carrying device on an operative member of the clenching press, and operating the press to cause the prongs of the device to penetrate the flexible material from the exterior thereof and to co-operate forcibly with the anvil on the mandrel so as to be clenched, the latter operation being performed while the mandrel is rigidly supported by a supporting part beneath it.

Also, the two parts of a two-part device may be attached by means of a clenching press to the outside and the inside of a doubled piece of flexible material, one part carrying prongs for clenching to the other part, by supporting and locating the one part of the device on a mandrel, inserting the mandrel with the located part of the device into the doubled piece, removably mounting 2,916,740 Patented Dec. 15, 1959 ice the other part of the device on an operative member of the clenching press, and operating said press to cause the operative part thereof to approach the mandrel and the prongs on the one part of-he device to penetrate the material of the doubled piece and to be clenched between the mandrel and the operative part of the press, this last-named operation being performed while the mandrel is rigidly supported by a supporting part beneath it. a

The present invention pertains to means for carrying out the method set out in either of the two preceding paragraphs. The means including the mandrel are adapted for use with the clenching press, are insertable into the doubled piece and have a clenching anvil and means for supporting and locating a part of a two-part device.

The mandrel may be permanently or detachably carried by the press. Provision is made to permit relative movement between the mandrel and its supporting part that the mandrel can be inserted into the doubled piece.

Thus, it may be hinged to the base of the press so that.

it can be raised or be otherwise angularly moved in relation thereto, while being positively located. Alternatively, the mandrel may comprise a bar rigidly fixed at one end to the base of the press, and carry the prongclenching anvil and means for supporting and locating a part of a two-part device at the other end, which is arranged to normally lie on the surface of the bed. The latter end can be raised from the surface of the bed, by virtue of its resiliency, sufliciently to enable insertion into the doubled piece.

Alternatively, the mandrel may comprise a bar rigidly fixed at one end to the base, or other part of the press, and carrying the prong-clenching anvil or the supporting and locating means at the other end. A part of the base may be adapted to support the latter end during the prong-clenching operation and may have the form of a horizontal or vertically slidable member which may be horizontally or vertically movable with respect to the mandrel.

The anvil or the means for supporting and locating a part of a two-part device may be disposed on the mandrel at such a distance from the outer end thereof that when the mandrel is inserted into the doubled piece up to a closed end of the latter, the anvil or the part of a two-part device on the mandrel will be located in the correct desired position for the attachment of the device.

When the prongs are on a part of the device to be attached to the outside of the doubled piece and are to be closed onto an apertured back-plate within the doubled piece, the back-plate is placed over, and located on, the anvil carried by the mandrel, before the insertion of said mandrel into the doubled piece. When the prongs are on the part of the device to be attached to the inside of the doubled piece and are to be closed onto an aper-' tured part of the device on the outside of the doubled piece, the pronged part is placed on and located on the supporting mandrel before the latter is inserted into the doubled piece. To retain the apertured back-plate, or the pronged part, as the case may be, on the mandrel during the insertion operation, the anvil part or the supporting and locating part of the mandrel may be formed as a recess therein, having retaining Walls or surrounding projections. Also, the apertured back-plate or pronged part may be held in position by clip means or magnetic means.

A range of sizes of'mandrels may be provided, or a single mandrel may be adapted to be fitted with sleeves Several embodiments of the present invention will be I described, by way of example, in connection with attachment of sheet-metal hook fastening members to trousers waistbands. In one embodiment the waistband comprises essentially a rectangularly shaped strip containing two thicknesses of cloth closed at the outer ends and edges to form a closed-end doubled piece and whichis stitched around the waist portion of the trousers during the making of the garment. The hook fasteningrnembers may carry integral attachment prongs. Such fastening members are attached by meansof the prongsto the waistband, near to cne of the closed ends of the latter, for detachable engagement with a corresponding eye at the other end of the waistband. The prongs are adapted to be passed through the material of the Waistband. from the front thereof, and through corresponding apertures in a sheet steel back-plate positioned on the underside of the material within the doubled piece, the prongs being clenched onto the surface of the back-plate on the anvil of a clenching press.

There will also be described the application of the invention to the attachment of a hook member which is not provided with prongs to the outside of a doubled piece, the hook member having apertures to receive prongs on a back-plate located inside the doubled piece.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing by way of example only, preferred embodiments of theinventive idea.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa clenching press, having a movable head part for holding the pronged hook fastening member, and provided with one form of anvil-carrying mandrel in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pronged hook fastening member and its associated back-plate.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the base of the press of Figure 1, showing the mandrel and its mounting.

Figure 4 is a vertical section along the line 'IV-IV of Figure 3, showing the mandrel in a position for'insertion into a doubled piece, such as a sleeve or pocket.

Figure 5 is partly a side view and partly a sectional view showing the anvil part of the mandrel inserted into a trousers waistband pocket and the pronged hook fastening member held in the head part of the clenching press, immediately prior to the prong-clenching operation of the latter.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 immediately after the prong-clenching operation.

Referring to the drawings, the clenching press shown in Figure 1 is of a known type, apart from the disposition of the anvil (indicated at 7). Thus, the press comprises a solid horizontal base 1 for supporting the anvil, and a head portion comprising a movable slide 2 carrying a holder 3, which is adapted to carry a pronged hook member 4 of the fastening device (Figure 2) with prongs Sof the latter presented towards the base 1. On operation of-the press, through a treadle-actuated arm 6, the holder 3 is caused to move towards the base 1 so that the prongs 5 of the hook member 4 are caused to penetrate a thickness of intervening material and engage with the anvil 7. The hook member 4 is shown as being intended for use with an associated apertured backplate 8 (Figure 2), and the anvil 7 is adapted to carry and locate the plate 8, so that the prongs 5 pass through apertures 9 therein and are bent over on the face thereof by the shaped surface of the anvil 7.

Instead of the anvil 7 forming a part of the base 1, as in prior art constructions, the anvil is formed by a recess 14 in aseparate flat steel plate constituting a mandrel 10 which is adapted to be supported'by, and is located upon, the bed 1, and isinsertable into the doubled piece of the waistband (pocket or sleeve indicated at 11, Figures 4 to 6) through an opening left therein. This recess 14 corresponds to the shape of the back-plate 8, and is formed with a surrounding retaining wall 15 (Figures 5 and 6) in which notches are formed (Figure 3) for receiving locating lugs or ears 17 on the back-plate 3, so that the latter may be correctly positioned and located.

The mandrel 10 consists of a substantially straight bar with the anvil 7 formed towards one end 25; the mandrel 10 is pivotally mounted, towards another end, about a vertical axis, on an extension arm 18 of the base 1 of the press. The mandrel 10 may thus be swung outwards in a horizontal plane from an operative position in which the anvil 7 is correctly located beneath the head of the clenching press and is supported by the base 1 (Figures 1, 3, 5 and 6), into a position in which the anvil-carrying part of the mandrel overhangs the base to facilitate its insertion into the doubled piece, as shown in Figure 3 (dotted lines) and Figure 4. The pivoted end of the mandrel 10 also carries a handle extension part 19 for the convenience of the operator.

A fixed pin 20 carried by the mandrel 10 engages in a curved slot 21 in the extension arm 18 and serves to limit the angular movement of the mandrel, and it is arranged so that the mandrel seats in a shallow transverse retaining groove 22 (Figures 3 and 4) when it is turned into an operative position.

The pivotal mounting of the mandrel comprises a headed pin or bolt 23 passing through holes in both the mandrel and the extension arm 18 and secured by a spring-loaded nut 24 (Figure 4) at its lower end, so that a downwards pressure is maintained on the mandrel.

The anvil-carrying end of the mandrel 10 is substantially rectangular in shape, corresponding to the size and shape of the interior of the waistband pocket 11, so that it may be inserted and fit closely therein with its free end 25 adjacent to the closed end of the pocket 11.

In attaching the hook fastening device, the pronged hook member 4 is first mounted in the holder 3 of the movable head part of the press, and the necessary backplate 8 is placed upon the anvil 7. The mandrel 10 is swung outwards into a position in which it overhangs the base 1, as shown in Figure 4. It is then inserted into an opening near the relevant end of the trousers waistband 11, and the latter is drawn over the mandrel so that the anvil 7 and back-plate 8 are correctly p0- sitioned adjacent the closed end of the waistband pocket or sleeve 11. The mandrel is then swung back into its operative position in which it is supported by the base, with the anvil 7 below the hook member 4, ready for the prongclenching operation (as shown in Figure 5).

In the clenching operation the pronged hook member 4 is lowered by actuating the press (through the treadle arm 6), and the prongs 5 are caused to penetrate the waistband material and engage with the anvil 7 so as to be clenched over onto the back-plate 8, as shown in Figure 6. The mandrel 10, together with the waistband pocket 11, is then swung outwardly again, thereby disengaging the hook member 4 from the holder 3 of the movable head part of the press, before the latter is allowed to return to its normal raised position, and the waistband 11 together with the attached fastener may then be withdrawn from the mandrel.

The fastener is thus attached in a quick and efiicient manner and in a predetermined position on the waistband. A minimum of sewing is substantially required. The fastener may be attached to the made-up waistband before the latter is sewn to the trousers or it'may be readily attached when the waistband is already on the trousers, provided a small gap is left suflicient for the mandrel to be inserted.

I claim:

Means f use in attac ng by the useof a clenching P s an x nal f ner member to the outside of a wall of ;a P Q Q I1 .d doubled piece, .ofa garment, said external fastening member constituting one part of a two-part fastener assembly, one other part of which consists of a back-plate member, one of said assembly members having prongs adapted to be clenched on to the other member, said means comprising, in combination with a base of the press, a mandrel consisting of a plate insertable into said doubled piece of the garment, means comprising a back-plate member-receiving recess in said mandrel in which said back-plate can be carried and located, and means comprising prong clenching surfaces within said recess, said mandrel being horizontally pivotally mounted on said base, whereby it may he moved between a position in which the part of the mandrel in the clenching press for the clenching operation and into other positions in which the said part adapted to adapted to carry the back-plate is correctly positioned '6 carry the back-plate may be inserted into the doubled piece of the garment.

7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 512,383 Mandel Jan. 9, 1894 939,200 Bennett Nov. 9, 1909 950,496 Shields Mar. 1, 1910 r 1,017,436 Mallory Feb. 13, 1912 1,382,013 Roach June 21, 1921 1,415,330 Frankel May 9, 1922 1,638,117 Foley Aug. 9, 1927 2,697,221 Brayton Dec. 21, 1954 2,718,005 Steinmetz" Sept. 20, 1955 2,794,981 Brayton June 11, 1957 

